I have the opportunity to buy a lightly used HD3ii-31 Hasselblad with 80mm lens for $2300. I've been mulling over buying a used Hassy kit for a while, so I can see if MF Digital workflow suits me, but I haven't been willing to spend a load of cash. Normally I shoot with a 5d MkII.

This seems too good a bargain to miss, as the lens is worth quite a bit on it's own. It is a good deal isn't it?

"Photography is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent moving furniture." Arnold NewmanDon't bother just to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. Try to be better than yourself. William Faulkner

It's not ebay, but yes I'm being a bit wary, the seller has given me lots of personal details, address, phone number etc that look very legit, he is a high ranking officer in the military. I'm checking his details out. The kit is too far away to see it in the flesh, but the seller has sent me lots of pics and info that to my mind seem genuine. He's also happy to accept whatever payment method I choose. Which of the various payment methods offers the best protection in case of fraud?

Can you find someone on a forum to perhaps go and check the camera out in exchange for a little cash perhaps? It sounds extremely unrealistic price-wise. I won't tell you what i paid for mine, but it was much more.

The camera takes fantastic photographs, though i don't use the 80mm on it. The 100 2.2 and the 35-90 are the sweet lenses for my uses at least. Two photos from this week:

Some people just don't know what they have. In my opinion, it's their fault for not researching. I've seen Contax 645 kits for under a grand when the craze was at it's height and people were selling kits in bad shape for $2500.

Some people just don't know what they have. In my opinion, it's their fault for not researching. I've seen Contax 645 kits for under a grand when the craze was at it's height and people were selling kits in bad shape for $2500.

Were you the buyer in those cases?

If not, how can you be sure how the transaction ended? Did you follow up with the buyer about the condition and to make sure no fraud was at hand?

"some people don't know what they have" is absolutely the case sometimes. However in my experience that statement applies more to truly obscure items which would require highly specialize knowledge, rather than a body which you can google or look at recent sales on eBay in under a minute of effort.

It's true that this could be a "lucky find". Sometimes rich sellers don't really care the price it goes for (though usually they care a great deal); sometimes less rich sellers just need to turn their item ino cash RIGHT NOW and time is more important than absolute dollar price. But often a deal too good to be true is just that.

Does it have a warranty? Has he tested it in all the situations you will use it in (see also: torger)? Does he have expertise to check the firmware, uv filter, front/rear lens element, lens alignment/sharpness, cf card and FireWire connectivity, etc etc?

Let me ask the more pertinent (to me) question: have you thoroughly considered if this system is right for your needs. If you stay in medium format then you will, without a doubt, spend more in thr long run on accessories, lenses, an other items than on this original purchase. Once you've picked a platform/system you are not 100% locked in, but the cost (in $ and time/effort) is high to change.

This may well be the absolute best system for your needs/wants/style, and this may be a very lucky legit sale. Or you may be letting the temptation of a "deal" blind your better judgement.

My suggestion is as it always is:Find the right product for you (whatever it is), THEN look for a deal. Not the other way around.

I also (openly selfishly) suggest working with a good dealer especially on your first MF purchase. Sometimes its more expensive (it would be in this case assuming this item is legit and in great condition), often it's the same or less, but it assures access to testing/evaluation, expert advice, an easy transaction, a warranty, and someone to hold to the fire if you feel slighted in the least.

Be aware that MFD has a bit of a learning curve and remember that you won't have a dealer to support you. Still at that price you could by it play with it and if you didn't like it turn a profit on the sale ..

Some people just don't know what they have. In my opinion, it's their fault for not researching. I've seen Contax 645 kits for under a grand when the craze was at it's height and people were selling kits in bad shape for $2500.

A high ranking officer in the military who apparently doesn't have the chops to spend 5 minutes on the internet to check the market price? Admittedly, the information isnt readily available, but google told me in a few minutes that this price is way way low. Red flag time, IMO.

Best ways to go for used gear are:DealersEbay from people with a good feedback record. Some very good deals to be had there both buying or selling.Known forum members selling gear in the used section on here and GetDPI.

Common ruse is to be too far away to be practical or have a good excuse to be unable to meet such as serving in the military.

Seen it all before. The scary thing now is where scammers used to be, well, idiots, they now are starting to offer things up at more reasonable but still temptingly cheap prices giving them a little more credability.

I got scammed on a h3dii-39 on ebay a few months back for a huge amount of money, paypal almost did not refund me as well. The main pattern I have seen to avoid ebay scams, is, even if they have a 100% feedback, good sellers accounts can be hijacked, you need to look if they have had any recent activity. 99% of the time the accounts that were hijacked the real seller had not used it in over a year, so there is less chance of them logging in and seeing that something is wrong,

But overall there really have been some nice deals for the H3D-31 - seen kits at $7k, and H4D-40's - seen kits at $12k - this is a lot of camera for that. I'm committed to the Rollei AFi but sometimes think about the H for the truefocus and the great zooms.